Les Filles aux mains jaunes

Early 1915. The First World War had been raging for several months. Hopes that it would be a short and victorious war have vanished. In an arms factory somewhere in Europe, Julie, Rose, Jeanne and Louise – four ‘girls with yellow hands’ – are churning out shells on an assembly line and discovering their fate as factory workers. Like everyone else, they long for victory and the return of the men. Against this unique backdrop, Jeanne yearns for revenge, Julie dreams of love, Rose listens to Louise, and Louise speaks out, campaigns, writes and tries to believe in a new world.

In the hell of an industry experimenting with mass production and Taylorism, with its inhumane working conditions, the four women discover a freedom that encompasses the body, speech and the mind… but also social inequality, solidarity… and something resembling the beginnings of emancipation…